Solomon: Texans' first-round pick Watt driven to succeed

CommentaryDoubt him if you dare, but Watt driven to succeed

JEROME SOLOMON, Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle |
April 30, 2011

J.J. Watt, who turned 21 last month, sounds almost too good to be true, columnist Jerome Solomon writes.

This we know about J.J. Watt:

Texans coaches will believe in him. His family will support him. Media will flock to him and many fans will love him.

This we also know:

Some will question him. Challenge him. Doubt him.

The more you learn about Watt, the Texans' first-round draft pick, the more evidence you see that the latter group, the doubters, drive him to work harder to be better.

And no one who has been around him has questioned his work ethic. The Wisconsin native even has a signature phrase: Dream Big. Work Hard.

He does both.

Straight from central casting, Watt, who turned 21 last month, sounds almost too good to be true. He is smart, rugged, big. Big hands. Big feet. Big heart.

On his wrist he wears bands with his signature phrase printed on them. (They will soon be available in Texans colors.)

The young man even has his own nonprofit foundation — the Justin J. Watt Foundation - that funds after-school athletic programs for middle school children. He plans to expand it to Houston.

"You have to give back to the community, because the community makes us who we are as players," Watt said Friday.

As a player, he says, if you like, feel free to doubt his ability.

"That's fine with me; I've been doubted before," Watts said.

In high school, he was doubted by every major school, including those in Big Ten country. Rivals.com rated him as a two-star prospect.

College-go-round

Coach Bret Bielema of Wisconsin, which is where he dreamed of playing, didn't think Watt was big enough to be a scholarship player for the Badgers. (Watt, who weighed 290 pounds at the NFL combine, has packed on nearly 70 pounds since his senior season in high school.)

But the all-around athlete - he was a quarterback as a sophomore, also lettered in basketball and baseball, won state in the shot put and was a stud hockey player until his feet grew so big the family backed away from $700 custom-made skates - kept plugging.

Watt committed to Central Michigan, but coach Brian Kelly left for Cincinnati. So after a quality senior season, Watt was recruited again. This time Minnesota offered, and he committed, but Glen Mason was fired. Watt ended up at Central Michigan after all, as a tight end.

Dreaming big

He started every game as a freshman but caught just eight passes and never got over his desire to play at Wisconsin, which is a 45-minute drive from his home in Pewaukee, Wis.

Watt knew his dream of playing in the NFL was unlikely if he stayed at Central Michigan.

So he left school, enrolled at a community college in Waukesha, Wis., and took a job at Pizza Hut mopping floors and delivering pizzas to earn money to pay his way to walk on at Wisconsin the next fall.

Watt, who had gained 25 pounds as a freshman, had no guarantees from Wisconsin he would play, let alone earn a scholarship. But he was motivated.

Delivering pizza wasn't what Watt had in mind as a career.

Humbling experience

By the time Watt decided to leave following his junior season, Bielema described him as the best defensive lineman he had coached. Better than two-time Pro Bowler Aaron Kampman.

"I said, 'I have your pizza,' " Watt said. "He looked back at me, kind of dejected. He was kind of like, 'Why is J.J. Watt, the football player, delivering my pizza?'

"It was just a very humbling moment for me. It brought me back down to earth. It reminded me why I was doing all this and reminded me how much I wanted to get to the top and wanted to be a great football player.

"I went back to my car and bawled for a little bit. I was like, 'Why am I doing all this?' I had to refocus and tell myself, 'I don't want to be delivering pizzas. I want to be playing football.' That moment re-centered me, re-motivated me.

"I got to the gym right away, started working my tail off and I just wasn't going to be stopped. I had a renewed confidence and belief that there was nothing that was going to stop me."